He was affected by his illness in his first ever defeat to Casper Ruud on Monday, and it was unclear how he would perform against Andrey Rublev especially after he ended a practice session early the day before.

But with the prospect of going out of the tournament looming over his head, Alcaraz dug deep to produce a solid performance to win in straight sets.

Will Carlos Alcaraz continue wearing his nasal strap after the ATP Finals?

Carlos Alcaraz needed to defeat Rublev to ensure his chance of reaching the semi-finals in Turin stayed alive. After trailing the Russian 2-3 in set one, the third seed upped his level and won four successive games to take the opening set.

Both players served very well in set two, which was decided on a tiebreak, during which the Spaniard saved two set points before sealing an important victory.

Post-match Alcaraz said his nasal band helped with his breathing, which positively impacted his performance against Rublev.

In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz commented on if he would keep wearing it, but he was unsure.

“I know Jarry wears that thing on the nose. For me it helped a lot today. I could breathe much better. If it is something that I am going to wear more often, I don’t know,” he said.

“In the situation that I am in right now it helped a lot. I am pretty sure in the next match I am going to wear it. I felt better and could recover better between points. It is for that, to breathe a bit better.”

Carlos Alcaraz is seemingly returning to full health at the ATP Finals

It remains to be seen if Alcaraz may choose to wear the nasal band to assist him in future tournaments, but there is a chance he may not wear it again in Turin.

This is due to an update from Sky Sports commentator Laura Robson, who reported that Alcaraz was training on Thursday morning without the nasal band.

This is a positive sign that the World number three is feeling better than earlier in the week and gradually returning to full fitness.

Alcaraz will need to be at his best to have the best chance of defeating Alexander Zverev in Friday’s ATP Finals clash, especially with the German currently on a seven-match wins streak dating back to the Paris Masters, which he won.

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